The first annual Black Music Honors was a victorious event that should be celebrated internationally as it illustriously praised cultural achievements and monumental successes of artists and music industry leaders worldwide. Nashville, also known as Music City, will soon hold the key to an expected world renown museum that will honor Black Music 365 days a year. It will be known as the National Museum of African American Music and is set to open in 2018. Expressed all throughout the magical night, was the notion that people should know Nashville isn’t just country music. Moreover, Black Music is a music of all genres: country, pop, gospel, bluegrass, blues, hip-hop, folk and so much more. Melodious tunes floated through the air of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s Jackson Hall enticing us all to dance, cry, laugh and make history. After all, music does have the power to evoke all emotions and heal all hearts. Ledisi and Malcolm-Jamal Warner led the audience through the momentous night of legendary honorees including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Big Daddy Kane, Clarence Avant, Paster Shirley Ceaser, Dionne Warwick and Stax Records. I, like, many of you are just being introduced to this new happening in Music City. Therefore, it is my prerogative to lay out the red carpet to you through this blog about how awesome it is to appreciate real music and commemorate it through a national museum. I’ve always had dreams of covering a red carpet, but my dream was written, sealed and delivered when I got the opportunity to aid in the celebration and publicity of the Black Music Honors. I’ve been around the music industry my whole life with my father promoting such artists as Prince, Selena Johnson, Bobby Womack, K-Ci and JoJo, Mint Condition, Archie Bell and the Drells, Tyrone Davis and much more. Though my father wasn’t present on this stellar night, I carried this warmth in my heart that he too played a vital role in the production and promotion of Black Music. Black Music should be honored as it has laid down the tracks for major motives and movements. It’s timeless tunes that we charade to at weddings, reunions, protests, cultural events and more should be celebrated every day. For the last couple of decades, June has been celebrated as African-American Music Appreciation month. It was decreed by President Jimmy Carter in June of 1979 as Black Music Month. On May 31, 2016, President Obama proclaimed the meritorious month as African-American Music Appreciation Month. He declared, “Songs by African-American musicians span the breadth of the human experience and resonate in every corner of our Nation ― animating our bodies, stimulating our imaginations, and nourishing our souls. In the ways they transform real stories about real people into art, these artists speak to universal human emotion and the restlessness that stirs within us all. African-American music helps us imagine a better world, and it offers hope that we will get there together.” Live tribute performers of this first year’s event definitely helped in this mission of togetherness and commonality. Soon, television audiences will be able to experience this new dawn of accolades on behalf of Black Music Honors. That list of must-see performers includes Andra Day, Tina Campbell, Chubb Rock, Stokley Williams, Ann Nesby, The S.O.S. Band, Jekalyn Carr, The Temptations Review feat. Dennis Edwards, Kool Moe Dee and more. During production breaks, I sat in awe of what I thought I knew about Black Music. There’s so much to learn, so much to experience, so much to be proud of, so much to be a part of. I could hear Kid Cudi’s lyrics, “This is the soundtrack to my life” as I sat there reminiscing on how music, in general, has been such a vital part of all of our lives. The National Museum of African American Music will be a place where we can not only celebrate joyful noise but a place where we can study the derivation of Black Music. It will truly be an honor, just to say, “I’ve been to this miraculous place that inspires the masses.” It is without further a due that I pledge my accordance with President Barack Obama’s proclamation: “NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2016 as African-American Music Appreciation Month. I call upon public officials, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate activities and programs that raise awareness and foster appreciation of music that is composed, arranged, or performed by African Americans. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.” This blog also appeared on Huffington Post.
For more information about the National Museum of African American Music, click here. Black Music Honors will air in Nashville, on WTVF-NewsChannel 5 on Sunday, September 4, 2016 at 3:00pm (CST). The show will premiere nationally on the Bounce TV Network, Friday, September 23, 2016 at 9:00pm (EST) and will re-air on Sunday, September 25, 2016 at 11:00am (EST). The show will run in syndication on Bounce and Aspire between September 23 – October 9, 2016.
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Music City felt the vibes of English singer-songwriter-guitarist, Corinne Bailey Rae as her voice reverberated through the small crevices of the packed crowd. It’s wonder how international artists make their mark in cities all over the world. Though music is universal, it must be an adventure to Bailey Rae as she spreads her rhythmic lyrics to very receiving audiences internationally. Bailey Rae showed Nashville a sultry, spiritual performance of her latest album, The Heart Speaks in Whispers. The infamous Cannery Ballroom hosted her soothing notes as she belted them out, line by line. It’s been said her music has the relaxing feel of coffee-shop music which alludes to awesome wonder that the historic Cannery building once served as a coffee-grinding place. Perhaps, this connection is spontaneous or perhaps this is part of the puzzle that perfectly plugs artists into the exact place they need to be. The irony. Past performers of this legendary venue include Adele, Lenny Kravitz, Chris Stapleton, Bon Jovi, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings and more. The two-time Grammy Winner gave Music City a vivid show through crowd interaction. Her show narration took everybody in the historic venue, not on an international journey, but on an internal journey. Songs like, “The Skies Will Break” shared motivational messages with a cohesively singing audience that figuratively raised the roof of Cannery Ballroom. “Like a Star” from her self-titled, breakthrough album, Corinne Bailey Rae, took the historic music hall to a lounge of love. It’s the Corinne Bailey Rae experience that helped many of us realign our days of the week. It is safe to say, not a soul in the house left unappeased. Bailey Rae just released a series of podcasts that you may find beneficial as she delves even deeper into her thoughts and therapeutic ways in which she utilizes the power of music. On the first podcast of the series, Bailey Rae says “I’m going to take you on a journey through the themes and personal experiences that came together to form the songs on my record, The Heart Speaks in Whispers.” Nature. The body. Intuition. And the subconscious. The healing power of music and the value of being present. These are ideas I’m passionate about.” To hear her podcast, click here. Mrs. Bailey Rae, we are delighted to hear more from you. Signed, Your Music City Fan. Read my Huffington Post blog here. Nashville. A city known originally as Country Music USA is slowly shifting its aura to a more modern, contemporary approach of crossover artists. The launch of Live on the Green concert series proved this notion to be true with the soulful and fervent voices of Allen Stone and Andra Day. A different crowd surfaced to embrace the melodious reverberations of these world-renowned artists. One can’t help be entangled in their lyrical stories while gracefully meandering with the dance vibes of the crowd. It’s a new age of Nashville that is refreshing as more and more people stake their claims in a city also known as Music City USA.
According to Mayor Megan Barry, an estimated 10,000 people gathered for the free festival at Public Square Park. Mayor Barry, the first woman mayor of Nashville, made her debut, just before Andra Day graced the stage, sharing factual information about the festival. How does a city put on a free festival with international artists you may ask? It's under the direction of meritorious leadership who values it citizens, transplants and all, and hears their quality of life needs. Music does heal souls after all! The fact that various organizations and corporations work together to create community is remarkable in and of itself. Uber, RedBull, Transit Now Nashville, Double Tree, LP Field and more have all work together with the festival’s host, Lighting 100 to produce the free event since 2009. Each year, attendance increases and vendors fill the streets surrounding Public Square Park all becoming components of a historic shift in Music City USA. Public Square Park is right in front of the Nashville Metro Courthouse. This park is home to justice for all in Nashville. Hosts of peaceful protests led by the #LGBT community and #BlackLivesMatter activists and much more have all gathered to digress and heal in this very location. If you visit, this plot of land, you can surely feel the liberation and validation, as its ambiance never seems to leave. Andra Day must’ve felt the emanation as she performed. Her raspy, powerful, unique voice told the stories of so many victims of injustice ranging from Sandra Bland to Philando Castille. An unexpecting and emotional audience gracefully received the vibes of the show and belted the words of Day’s most infamous song, Rise Up. Spectators and listeners throughout the halls of downtown heard Day’s words so pleasantly that no void soul was left. All could proclaim inspiration. All could proclaim Music City USA is the wave of the future. For all of the friends who are wondering what's happening. Nashville is happening at Live on the Green for the next few weekends! Grace the green with your presence for the next few weeks. See the schedule here. Photo Credits: Live on the Green I don't know about you, but I don't look like much when I'm going to my usual workout regimes. I'm usually mentally taxed out and ready to turn in by the time I get to ready to turn-up at hot yoga or to my gym. I must say it's refreshing to see women like Gabby Douglas look normal! Shes sweating profusely day in and day out to achieve perfect stunts, flips, and tricks that would leave any of us with broken limbs, let alone, as some of you have called out, "raggedy edges." I can appreciate a real woman who's focus is not her appearance but her craft. Take notes, we could all get some inspiration here.
We, women, are hard on each other. I'm sure it takes confidence to achieve the kind of perfection these ladies exhibit on the world stage. Gabby Douglas is well aware of her hair and her heroism. Perhaps, we should find that same grounding in ourselves. I'd like to propose a serious question: Why is it that men can fumble around on a football field with bolstering bellies and interesting hair, but no words are spoken? Moreover, Football players are hiding under helmets and padding. Gymnast literally bare it all! As a pageant girl, the swimsuit competition is the scariest thing I ever did. I'm just not that comfortable showing my body to the world. Again, I'll resort back to my first premise, it's refreshing to see real women compete for what they want in bodysuits and as bare as they can come with hair in a bun, minimal makeup, and chalked bodies. Gabby Douglas isn't hiding from you. She's sharing with you that it's okay to be bare it all and be you. Find that same grounding in yourself! Workout videos of the past and present show women in full faces of makeup and perfectly styled hair. Truthfully, these very videos create distortions of reality that make women feel inadequate and cause negative commentary against perfectly skilled Olympian,Gabby Douglas. I'd rather be in a gym full of any kind of women than to be tortured by unrealistic expectations of a workout video. I guarantee that if I walked on that world stage, I'd be picked apart for various flaws. I can appreciate Gabby Douglas for being real. For making me feel like, it's okay to be real too. Gabby Douglas is the complete package of everything! It's been known for Olympians to get endorsements for cereal boxes, etc. I suggest we all buy a deluxe box of Gabby Douglas Everything?! Perhaps we will attain some of her most prized qualities: Confidence, Poise, Determination, Charisma and the list goes on! ![]() That persuasive voice that talks us all into feeling like we are aliens in a perfect world is exactly how I describe it. It’s the daunting music that plays and tension that we feel before doubtful lyrics start to chorus in: Am I ready for this? What if they say this about me? But, they don’t know the truth about the who, what, when, where and why… Who do I think I am to be so bold? It’s called impostor syndrome, and no one person is excluded from its grappling clinch. I’ll never forget my first time stepping into the pageant world. I was 4 years old. The day of my pageant, my mom was still making finishing touches on my dress, styling my hair and applying a minuscule amount of makeup. I’d been playing with my four front, top teeth as most kids do at that age. They were loose and wiggly and quite frankly, I didn’t understand their importance at that moment and probably for good reason. I tugged and wiggled all 4 teeth right out of my mouth just hours before the pageant. I don’t remember my mom freaking out, and she would’ve never expressed her negative digressing of my new found smile anyway, but I simply didn’t have a care in the world that I was now the snag-tooth pageant hopeful. That night I got on stage without all four of my front teeth, and I left all my talents on the stage. I walked away with 1st Runner up in Little Miss Humboldt. Despite what you may know, that was a pretty big deal and a major accomplishment in a town population of fewer than 8,000 people. The point is, as a kid, I had no impostor syndrome because I had no awareness of my flaws. There was no voice telling me what was wrong and how the world may perceive me. However, the older we get, we become aware of our imperfections, and if you’re human and we all are, feelings of inadequacy may cloud you at times. If you’re sitting behind your screen right now, saying, “no,not me.” I’ve got news for you, you must be anointed to some miraculous, immortal degree. I’ve worked with big-wig people who still wonder how the world views them. Truthfully, it’s inevitable to avoid. It's reality. If I were sporting my 4-year old smile at the current age of 26, someone might assume a plethora of negatively connoted reasons why. Naturally, my impostor syndrome would commence. The key to succeeding your impostor syndrome is talking to yourself in a more pleasant, convincing voice. I like to pretend that Morgan Freeman is talking to me because he’s someone who convinces us all how great a variety of different platforms are from the Olympics to American Express to Hillary Clinton. Find your voice, however, it sounds. Once you train yourself to hear this voice the loudest, you will find yourself channeling a more productive, vibrant, nonchalant spirit. Sharon Jones, a world renown, musician recently told Rolling Stone Magazine: “In the 1990s, a record producer told her she was "too fat, too black, too short and too old." "I looked at myself and saw ugliness," she said. “Jones retreated from music, taking various jobs that included two years as a corrections officer at Riker's Island prison.” Sharon said that taking this job fostered her on stage persona: “fierce and demanding respect.” She said, “The inmates didn’t scare me. I had to put a mean face on, but it went away in a second."” She said, “I told myself, God blessed you with a gift, use your gift.” It was her inner voice that led her to a remarkable musical career. To all of you, it wasn’t until Sharon’s 40's that her persistence paid off! So, listen up, your inner voice is so important. It’s okay to listen to the impostor in your head, but don’t let it be the reason you aren’t your best self in every situation! Here are 3 more tips to dealing with that vicious visiting voice: 1. Stay in your own lane
2. Expect Outside Commentary
3. Tread through Fierce Waters
1. Have Tea Time:
In today’s terminology, we often associate tea with gloating gossip or even in some Instagram instances, a way to lose weight. Yes… You’ve seen Kermit sipping. And yes, girl… You’ve seen all the celebrities posting their pictures of their bodies after tea! However, ancient rhetoric and holistic medicine stake claim on different tea drinking results of positivity. There’s literally a tea for dealing with stress, constipation, body aches, sinuses and more. As little girl’s we grow up practicing tea party etiquette with hosts of friends, some even imaginary. The older we get, we forget the true essence of this time is where we listen to ourselves, heal our bodies holistically and spend that much-needed girl time together! I encourage you to delve into that same daintily, girly imaginary land with that empty tea cup that you still seemed to get so full from and have yourself some “tea time.” You deserve to be full again. 2. Buy Yourself Some Flowers: I was never the girl who had my love story figured out. I’ve always been somewhat independent in that respect. I have an amazing fiancé that will jump over the moon for me, yet I still feel the need to do something sweet for myself like buy flowers. While some may snarl at the thought of this, I actually enjoy going to the flower section in Kroger and buying myself some flowers. There is something ephemeral about it that drives Alex to do even more. No man likes competition. They always want to win. So show him, lady, and go buy you some flowers. Let him know that you’ve got you covered! 3. Accomplish Something on Your Own: After college, I was told a million times, it’s all about who you know. Can’t “X person” help you? I even heard some people complain about how no one would help them. I won’t excite you with all the riveting movie plots I’ve encountered after college, but I will tell you that the best parts of the plots are the ones that I wrote, directed and acted alone. Learn to expect the best from yourself, and exude everything in your being to make it happen with or without a penny or a bit of advice. 4. Keep a Secret: I’ll never forget this one time that I went to interview at the White House. I literally told no one, but my family and my two friends that I stayed with during my stay in D.C. I didn’t want this part of the plot to be deterred or figured out by anyone other than me. I prepped long and hard for this moment, and I knew whether it turned into a Grammy moment in my career or not, I didn’t have to make it headline news. It was my accomplishment just to make it there. It was my accomplishment to protect and nurture myself to being even better than before. I kept it a secret from some of my closest friends for up to a year afterward. As a result, that moment, the details are so sacred to me in a way that I know the power of their manifestation. 5. Talk to One if not Both of Your Parents: Coming from a big family of 5 siblings, we hold very few secrets amongst each other. We are the most, blunt bunch you might ever see. The relationship that my parents hold with each of my siblings is an admirable one that we’ve each gained a host of meritorious qualities from. Each time I talk with my parents, I ask questions about who, what, why, when and how. Learning them as adult to adult is a pretty electrifying phenomenon. Hearing my father, a small-town hero, talk about how he’s played artist such as Prince, R. Kelly, Selena Johnson and more has taught me that no dream is off limits. Listening to my mom drop whatever she’s doing and say I’m going to be by your sister or your brother’s side is something that teaches you the power of womanhood. Sometimes, she moves so fast and so calmly, that you may even think she’s Casper. So, I urge you to talk to your parents. It is vital. They’re telling you a story that could depict your future. Spend time with them. Enjoy them. They knew your name before you were born. I'll admit it, I'm not stranger to a fad diet or a raging health tip. I, literally live, to try the things we are told will prevent this disease and will heal that ailment. I'm definitely a gimmick to gossip magazines entitled, "Khloe Kardashian, How she got her revenge body." I succumb to these temptations of “said health” like a fickle dieter and sweets. Thereof, commenced Jasmine's juice cleanse. My experience documents as follows:
Warning: Do not start a juice cleanse without proper preparation. Before I decided to embark on this journey, I began juicing as a lunch meal replacement for two weeks. I'd go to lunch with the midday crash, and then, I’d come back to work like President Obama. I was truly energized and ready to conquer the world. This spawned my curiosity to try juicing for a 3 day period! Here’s what happened: Day 1: I woke up determined and defeated at the same time. Why may you ask? I'm human, and we love the sensation of eating more than we realize! There’s something about not just the taste of food, but the whole process of chewing and swallowing and the fullness you feel from a gratifying meal – (My fiancé likes to refer to this notion as the “Slaw Demon”). I truly struggled and missed actually eating, so I had to find an alternative notion of reflecting upon. I had spurts of frequent cravings of Ghirardelli chocolate and coffee with cream and sugar. In my weakest moments, I forced myself to refocus that energy to the overall outcome I was attempting to attain. This is the key for day 1! Find your motivation to maintain your action. I wanted a complete body-reset, ridding any sweet cravings and toxins from my body. These small things can control you rather you realize it or not; and in several areas of life, this mentality can divert you from positive and productive missions. I wanted a clean slate mentally. I wanted to defeat bad habits and start fresh. I wanted to go cold turkey and win! I wanted to prove that if I can win at this, I can win at many other things that I’m facing in my life too! Once I adopted this mentality, the challenge was on, and I was back to conquering the world. Day 2: Strangely enough, many of our eating habits are due to our emotions and our schedules and if that’s out of whack, we are out of whack. Day 1’s stamina lead me to master the feats of emotions and schedules. Beginning the day, I was energized and experiencing fewer cravings. My focus was stronger. I wrote down my task for the day and checked them all off with little distraction or procrastination. Day 2, I’d made it halfway through the marathon and I refused to turn back. If you make it halfway, through a juice cleanse, you’ve already kicked bad habits and pushed your limits. You’ve won again! Day 3: To be expected, I was depleted. I woke up saying, “I can’t wait until tomorrow when I can have chicken and waffles for breakfast.” However, in any race, you’re pretty tired by the time you reach the end. I went through the whole day with no cravings. Truthfully, I didn’t even want any more juice. I simply just wanted to finish what I’d started. Day 3 consisted of a lot of trips to the bathroom because I was physically discarding everything! According to my magazine mantras, this was to be expected. What they don’t tell you in the magazines is that famous people actually do very minimal activity when do these infamous cleanses. Many are also under the direction of their doctors, nutritionist, dietitians and more. I, contrarily, completed my juice cleanse and my key to succeeding was taking it easy on myself. Desiring to renew, rejuvenate and refresh at a 3-day pace requires some pep in your step, but also some come to Jesus with yourself that it’s okay to sit down for rest and recuperation in order to try again the next day. I also learned that every day is different, and to use it for what it is! Notice, I said “use it” not “take it” for what it is. Don’t let the day own you. You own the day! If you have more questions about my juice cleanse, let me know! I would love to share more of my experience! P.S. I never even ate the chicken and waffles. Day 4, I had no cravings for junk food! Anyhow, no one wants to mess up a good thing after they've put in the work for it. In the days following, I've been more energetic, experienced clearer skin, more spiritually focused, and my entire human aura shifted to a more positive and productive state! I even decided to embark on my Bikram Yoga Journey again. Quotes from the Shea Moisture COMMERCIAL: SPECIAL NOTE: PLEASE WATCH THE COMMERCIAL BEFORE READING.
Hair is a beautiful thing and a captivating aspect of the beauty world! So captivating, that it’s a subject matter that we all should be talking about. The quoted words above that captivated my attention during the best ever, BET Awards had every bit to do with acknowledging that ALL hair is beautiful! These words literally resonated with me as I've traveled down these same retail store aisles in search of the most effective products for my hair only to be directed to a small section within an aisle of "beauty products" entitled ethnic. Shea Moisture’s first ever commercial made me come to the realization that I don't really have a presence on the shelf and in so many other arenas, a seat at the table to stake my claim. I've always lived in a world where my hair has been questioned by all ethnicities of women, not just women of color. Therefore, the curiosity of my hair has never really sparked an uncomfortable flair. As the words above state, I've internalized "hair talk." When going to certain events or interviews, I've changed (straightened) my hair to fit the appropriate mold - (hair that doesn't cause too much attention). I've not voiced my thoughts on hair, positively or negatively. White women have told me, "Oh I love your hair, how does it do that?" I just respond with an explanation of how I got it that way whether wearing weave or my natural curls. My African American peers have asked me the same questions as well. The different perspectives of inquiry from both ethnicities have been interesting and definitely a result of the emphatic expectations that we've placed on all women in the beauty division. There is no reason why the girl with the curly fro or the dredlocks should feel as though she's on some lonely island in retail stores or in a sea of women who don't look like her. Here's a tip: Help her feel beautiful by being inclusive! Beauty has been so dictated that we all have these questions as to what hair is "right" when in fact; there is no right hair. There's just hair. I guess this is why I've not allowed hair inquisitiveness to be presumed in the wrong way. Due to the beauty standards before us, some of us simply can't help our naivety. I'll spare you of some of the mindless questions I've received about my hair due to nescience. I'll spare you of some of the painful testimonies I've shared with my African American friends. However, Shea Moisture brings a major topic to the table... We all belong in the beauty aisle. Beauty should be accessible to all rather silky straight, weave, curls, relaxed, thick, thin, or whatever. Moreover, the inclusion of ethnic hair should be accepted as a beacon of beauty just like blondes, red heads, and more. I've always done whatever I wanted to do with my hair- mostly, styles for convenience. It wasn't until I saw this commercial by Shea Moisture that I realized, in order to exemplify the hair styles that I love, I do, in fact, have to go to the ethnic aisle in major retail stores. In most cases of hair shopping for proper conditioners, extensions and supplies, and more, I usually visit "the hair store". Ironically, people of Asian descent own most of those. I've done this throughout the years of my relaxed hair, braided hair, and weaved hair and curls. I've done this without little thought at all to the many aisles of products labeled "beauty" and not designed to accommodate the textures and styles that I embody. The visuals of the Shea Moisture commercial helped me to realize the truth of ethnic hair's role in the midst of tons of products not made for ethnic hair. So this is my call to action for all of us with certain beauty standards. We are all beautiful. Let go of the standards and depictions of what beauty is supposed to embrace and join the Shea Moisture conversation of #BreakingTheWalls. Let's adapt this mentality, "We're Shea Moisture and we can be found in the beauty aisle where we all belong." Better, yet, let's be found in various esteemed positions all over the world because we belong there too irregardless of any physical assets! Ladies, stop mentally and physically manipulating your body into shapes and sizes it was not meant to take. There’s a phenomenon going on that everyone should have hips, a butt, and breast and no waist at all… Whereas, the legendary body type phenomenon excluded three of those requirements: no hips, no butt, or no breast. These are just the shoulder down stipulations. There’s also a movement to reshape faces: enlarging lips and more, but I’m here to tell you, your face and your body are a movement in and of themselves, fit for an awesome woman like yourself to be DIFFERENT.
I sat at a table with my sorority sisters recently, and we really delved into the things we wish we could change about our bodies. This incident of body-shaming is just one of many occurrences that I've sat in on with multiple women. I've heard it all: "I don't like to look in the mirror." "I want smaller boobs." "I don't want to be fat." "I wish I didn't have cellulite." "I wish I didn't have stretch marks." I've heard it all, but rarely do I hear, "I love this body, and I just want to be healthy." If we were all scientists, we'd probably feel pretty good about the fact that our bodies do more unimaginable, impeccable things for us than just look good, or mentally play tricks on us. Here's a list to name a few: Create Life, Make Food (MILK), Survive. Fancy yourself with more here! Lady reading this blog, you are beautiful inside and out. Add a positive outlook that equation and you are the perfect solution to any scenario. Break Stereotypes and be who you are in the body you have. Check out this story about Jessamyn, a curvy girl transcending body image stereotypes in the Yoga world: We need to stop comparing ourselves to things and people incomparable. So, today is the day to celebrate bodies! The next time you find yourself having a body image breakdown, remind yourself that you are DIFFERENT, and everything about that is okay! P.S. there will be more body image post to follow! If you'd like to share your story or your journey, I'd love to feature you on my blog! Double P.S. this is not a post to shame any woman who has altered your body through plastic surgery. Consider yourself blessed as well! You are no less of a woman! Social Media is a place where we vaguely, yet immensely get to know our friends, families and acquaintances thoughts and opinions. Now, is not the time for cyber bullying. Nor has it ever been. The entire human race has just witnessed and been affected by a massacre this past weekend. In reality, many of us are hit with fatality or strife every day: losing loved ones various ways, hurting from our own misfortunes and so much more. Social Media is not the place where we should tear each other down. There's a common term for this that many of us aren't even classifying our behaviors as. It's called cyber bullying. It doesn't just happen to teenage boys and girls. It happens to everyone especially when we're all looking for someone to blame. It's true what they say, "hurt people, hurt people. “ How do we counteract this? Yes, it is so hard to mask your feelings when you feel rightfully justified. However, in times of tragedy, try to find love and empathy in your darkness. Hold on to these qualities like it's your last dollar in the bank. You'll be surprised how you can pay it forward. Most of us are praying for the days when we no longer have to experience the unjust. Keep praying. Goodness and mercy come from higher places. There's a peace that transcends you when you let go. It's an indescribable occurrence that you have to let happen in your life. As stated before, hurt people, hurt people. We've all witnessed the argumentative, distasteful, unaware comment streams on our Social Media timelines. Newsflash, there is an antidote. It's learning how to talk about the tragedy in a positive and productive way. I just read an article on CNN entitled, "How to talk your Kids About Tragic Events." Perhaps, we should all relearn how to talk to each other about tragic events. The article pointed out the following techniques for kids that I'm sharing with you, as an adult, to heed: 1. Limit your exposure. If you can't handle all the news updates, the imagery, the soundbites, get away from it. According to the CNN article, "Studies that found that children who had repeated and prolonged exposure to media images had more difficulty with anxiety than kids with less exposure..." Perhaps, this may be true of adults too. 2. Find some reassurance. It may be an isolated incident. It doesn't mean it's going to happen to you. Allowing anxiety to build up means you need to adhere to Tip 1. 3. Open up to somebody you love and trust. God first. You can open up on Social Media all night, but when you get off and you've heard everybody's opinions and you're all worked up, then who, what, when and why? A good, old fashion conversation may do you some good. Lastly, my mother always said, "Pretty is as pretty does." Behave yourselves, people. You've got an audience on Social Media that has a front row seat to your commentary. Make sure it's pretty. Here's a posting tip: just share articles and not your negative thoughts and opinions. The world needs love! Be kind. |
AuthorThe things I write about are the love of my life and the life of my love! Archives
July 2017
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